Big incentive to negotiate Roscommon

If ever an incentive was needed to win a game of football then Meath were handed the ideal motivation on Sunday evening when the winners of next Saturday's All-Ireland SFC qualifier against Roscommon at Pairc Tailteann, 7.0 were drawn to face Limerick in the fourth round. Without jumping too far ahead, Meath will surely see this as an opportunity to right the wrongs of last year and exorcise the demons that haunted the 2008 championship at the Gaelic Grounds when Limerick handed Meath their most humiliating day. However, firstly there is the not insignificant hurdle of Roscommon to be negotiated and any player, supporter or member of the management team who believes this should be a mere formality is in for a rude awakening. The first malady regarding Roscommon that should be disregarded is their 0-7 to 3-18 hammering by Mayo in the Connacht SFC. John O'Mahony's men have since gone on to claim the provincial title with an impressive victory over Galway and back in June they caught Roscommon cold. Roscommon are a very good footballing side and Meath will not have it easy against their western visitors who have made life difficult for the Royals in the not too distant past including a couple of league games and an All-Ireland MFC semi-final. Only three years ago Meath were expected to cruise past Roscommon in the All-Ireland MFC semi-final, but instead they were handed a football lesson at Croke Park as the Donie Shine-inspired Rossies gave Meath football plenty of food of thought. That Roscommon team went on to win the All-Ireland title in impressive fashion and six of those players, Peter Domican, David O'Gara, Kevin Higgins, Fintan Cregg, Shine and James McKeague, have progressed onto the next level with Shine the pick of the bunch. The talented corner-forward contributed nine of Roscommon's 11 points in their three-point win over Wexford in last Saturday's All-Ireland SFC qualifier second round replay and will be their key figure against Meath. Worryingly for Roscommon is the fact that they managed just three points from play against an ordinary Wexford side and if Meath can continue to improve with the progression they have been making throughout this championship then they should win. However, complacency is still the big factor with Meath. There was plenty of scope for malaise when Meath were drawn against Waterford and Westmeath in the first two rounds, but Meath showed plenty of professionalism to score 15 and 10-point wins respectively. There is still that nagging doubt in the back of Meath supporters minds following the shambles of Dr Cullen Park against Wexford and the embarrassment of the Gaelic Grounds against Limerick and those worries are hard to shake. Meath haven't been seriously tested yet in the qualifiers and that might count against them on Saturday, but the reality is that if they play to the peak of their powers then Eamonn O'Brien's men should have far too much in the tank for Fergal O'Donnell's side. A niggling back injury looks set to rule Kevin Reilly out of contention again and that will probably mean O'Brien will opt for the same 15 that defeated Waterford and Westmeath, although Jamie Queeney could be in with a chance of starting. Queeney came in for the out-of-sorts Brian Farrell against Westmeath and the Na Fianna man did well. However, O'Brien could keep faith with the Nobber player as the conditions in Mullingar didn't suit him and he is likely to improve at Pairc Tailteann. Farrell has a good pedigree against Roscommon and his match-winning 2-8 haul in the 2007 NFL Div 2 final is sure to guarantee that the Connacht side will be wary of his threat. Rumours of Mark Ward's departure from the panel have been greatly exaggerated and while the big O'Mahonys man is unlikely to reclaim his place he is pushing Brian Meade hard and ensuring plenty of good competition for places. Meath will be overwhelming favourites to advance and a comfortable win should be expected if they play to the peak of their powers.However, finding that peak has been Meath's problem in recent years. Much rests on the collective shoulders of Cian Ward, Stephen Bray, Nigel Crawford, Peadar Byrne and Anthony Moyles. If those players are on form then Meath should advance to set up a mouth-watering re-match with Limerick. 2009 Championship MEATH Leinster SFC - Dublin 0-14, Meath 0-12. All-Ireland SFC - Meath 1-20 Waterford 0-8. All-Ireland SFC - Meath 1-15 Westmeath 1-5. ROSCOMMON Connacht SFC - Roscommon 2-13 Leitrim 2-9 Connacht SFC - Mayo 3-18 Roscommon 0-7 All-Ireland SFC - Roscommon 0-11 Wexford 1-8 All-Ireland SFC - Roscommon 0-11 Wexford 0-8 (replay) Previous championship clashes 2006 - Meath 1-19 Roscommon 0-9 (All-Ireland qualifiers) 1991 - Meath 0-15 Roscommon 1-11 (All-Ireland semi-final) 1952 - Meath 1-6 Roscommon 0-7 (All-Ireland semi-final) Meath (Probable) - Patrick O'Rourke; Chris O'Connor, Anthony Moyles, Eoghan Harrington; Seamus Kenny, Cormac McGuinness, Caoimhin King; Nigel Crawford, Brian Meade; Stephen Bray, Joe Sheridan, Peadar Byrne; David Bray, Brian Farrell, Cian Ward.